Thursday, December 20, 2007

In Palm Springs, California, groundwater depletion is threatening "more than 120 world-class golf resorts - among them PGA West, Bermuda Dunes Country Club and Mission Hills."

The utopian would argue that this problem should be addressed by limiting or even reversing growth, and placing drastic restrictions on water use. The realist, by contrast, understands that rain follows the plow:

"We have a problem, and we have to deal with it," said Steven Robbins, chief engineer for the Coachella Valley Water District. "But our goal is to not have water be a constraint to growth."

This, you'll agree, is a goal suited to the essential dignity of Man. Rather than follow environmentalists down the Via Dolorosa that leads directly to the gulag, officials are reportedly looking at "a giant pipeline to import water for golf courses" from some place that has a bit to spare (Minnesota, perhaps).

Once you've managed the conceptual leap of imagining that water needn't be a constraint to growth, everything else is child's play. There's water elsewhere in the country, and there are several possible ways of conveying it to Palm Springs; the logistics can be worked out in the fullness of time.

As can the logistics of repairing infrastructure damaged by subsidence:

Land is sinking in parts of the Coachella Valley where groundwater is being pumped faster than it can be replaced, according to a study released today by the Coachella Valley Water District and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The survey, conducted from 1996 - 2005, found that the area near the Bermuda Dunes Airport has sunk more than 13 inches during that time - the deepest drop in the valley.

Promoters have said the hotel will create a "new era of sophisticated elegance in Palm Springs."

The 153,700-square-foot hotel will include an 8,000-square-foot ballroom, meeting room, a 10,780-square-foot spa and fitness facility, pool, restaurant and a 2,000-square-foot gourmet market, city officials said.